Iowa City offers new organic carts

Iowa City is offering new, optional carts for organic waste and recycling to curbside pickup customers to promote eco-friendly, waste-reduction practices starting this summer. The carts are easier and safer for residents and waste-management staff because the wheeled carts latch onto the trucks, meaning nobody has to lift them.

Two sizes of organics carts, 25- and 95-gallon, and 65-gallon recycling carts can be reserved online.

The Iowa City Landfill will compost the organic waste, mostly food scraps, yard waste, and paper products. The new carts follow changes to the organic-waste program implemented in January, when a $2 pickup service charge on all curbside customers’ utility bills replaced official $25 stickers for organics containers and mandatory city of Iowa City yard waste bags, priced at $1.25 each.

Customers may also use their own 20- to 35-gallon upright containers or paper bags for yard waste, but they cannot include food waste without a cart.

Residents picked up more than 300 25-gallon organics carts at a two-hour distribution event. – The Daily Iowan, daily-iowan.com